We’ll Cross that Bridge

Fares Announced For Bali Toll Bridge Expected to Operate in July 2013

(6/16/2013) PT Jasa Marga has announced that Bali, as Indonesia’s main tourism destination, will soon be home to the longest toll bridge in Indonesia measuring 12.7 kilometers long.

The Commissioner of the operators of the new road Jasa Marga, Ibnu Purna Muchtar, quoted by the State News Agency Antara, said, “The toll bridge built by a consortium of State-Owned Companies measures some 10 kilometers over an ocean way.”

He went on to explain that the length of the Bali toll bridge is almost the same as the Penang Bridge in Malaysia that measures 13.5 kilometers or the Union Bridge in Canada that is 12.9 kilometers in length.

Continuing, Muchtar added, “It could be that this toll bridge is the most beautiful in the world and will connect Nusa Dua, the Ngurah Rai Airport and Benoa. “

At present, people in Denpasar, Kuta and at the Bali airport wanting to travel to Nusa Dua can only do so by traveling on the Jalan Bypass Ngurah Rai. That road, built in the 1960s, is currently overburdened with traffic.

Said Muchtar, “Every morning and every afternoon, the congestion of this roadway will be encountered near the Ngurah Rai Airport or at the Simpang Siur intersections heading towards Denpasar.

Surveys show that the number of vehicles with four or more wheels that pass over the Ngurah Rai Bypass road each day exceed 40,000, supplemented by a further 56,000 motorcycles.

The commissioner of the new toll bridge went on to describe how a single traffic accident can completely close traffic flows in South Bali, persuading the government of the absolute need to build an alternative road.

With the new toll bridge the traveling time from Benoa to Nusa Dua of one hour will not be reduced to only 10-15 minutes.

Rapid Construction

The director of development for PT Jasa Marga, Abdul Hadi, told the press that the new toll bridge was the fastest road construction project ever completed in Indonesia.

“This project with a value of Rp. 2.4 trillion (US$240 million) uses a design and build concept undertaken by Jasa Marga and a group of State-Owned companies,” explained Hadi.

Building over water relieved the project from the need to acquire land for the project, giving the contractors freedom to creatively and efficiently complete the roadway 4 months ahead of schedule.

Motorcycles Welcome

The new toll bridge will have separate lanes for motorcycles.

Hadi was confident that the new toll bridge would quickly become a tourist icon for Bali, recognized around the world.

He said the road would help Bali develop further economically.

Toll Bridge Fares

Abdul Hadi said that the tariff for the new toll bridge would be Rp. 10,000 (US$1) for cars and Rp. 4,000 (US$0.40) for motorcycles.

Feasibility studies for the new toll bridge estimates that 38,000 vehicles will use the bridge each day with the bridge expected to have an operation life span of 50 years.

Jasa Marga Toll has an operating concession of 45 years on the new toll bridge.